What Is Tree Lopping

Tree Lopping is a practice undertaken by tree surgeons in which the limps and branches of a tree are removed to promote new growth within the tree.

Aesthetic Applications

Lopping and Root Barriers are now common practices in tree management within the sphere of of landscape design. With Lopping, a designer will employ someone to change the shape of a tree so that it will fit in with the rest of the design of the garden. This change could be anything from reducing or increasing the height of the tree or encouraging the branches to grow in a certain direction or into a certain shape. This process is achieved through the use of carefully placed guide wire that forces the green shoots to bend and grow in a certain direction.

Emergency Applications

The rest of the time, lopping is employed as an emergency technique and is there to prevent a tree branch from causing significant damage or even to stop the tree from dying.

Emergency Applications: In The City

If you are tasked to perform some Tree Lopping in Sydney, for example, this may be because a tree has become damaged in a storm and a branch is precariously hanging over the road, or that the tree has grown in such a way that its trunk is now hanging over the power lines. All over Australia, in cities similar to Sydney, the rick of bushfire, sparked by a tree falling on power lines is significant, especially since Gum trees are native to Australia and are designed to drop their branches. In this sense, Lopping trees is a preventative measure to protect the local urban population.

Emergency Applications: In The Bush

Outside of the city, tree lopping is more of an exercise in tree first aid. a park ranger may employ a tree surgeon for some tree lopping if he notices a tree has been struck by lightening and is half dead. The lopping of trees in this situation is to help stimulate new growth in the tree, as well as keeping the environment safe for visitors and animals.

The Arguments For And Against

Human beings have artificially created their living environment and most countries, for centuries, tried to contain or shut out nature instead of coexisting with it. In the enlightened times that we live in, we know that shutting nature out is not only a bad idea but does not work. In this sense, Processes like Tree Lopping and Root Barriers could be considered cruel, an new way of practicing old behaviours but there is a place for it. The problem with having trees in your garden or in the street is that their roots eventually tear up the road and pavement or get into the foundations of your house.

To Conclude
Essentially, Tree Lopping in Sydney and other similar cities is needed but should only be used as a preventative measure, to stop damage to the urban environment and the risk of bush fire.